Synthetic resin and method of making same



Patented Sept. 13, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,642,078 PATENT OFFICE.

TAKES HOINTOBE AND EDWIN YEAKLE WOLFORD, OI

nonnrsrown, rnnnsnvmu,

ASSIGNORS TO DIAMOND STATE FIBRE COMPANY, OI ELSH EBE, DELAWARE, A COR- PORATION OI DELAWARE.

SYNTHETIC RESIN AND METHOD OF-MAKING SAME.

Io Drawing.

Our invention relates to that class of condensation products utilizing phenol or one of its homologues, and one ob ect of said 1nvention is to provide a new condensation 5 product of the above classwhich shall employ glycerine or glycerine der1vat1ves 1n its formation.

It is also desired to provide a synthetic resin which shall be inexpensive and easy to make, whose nature shall be such as to fit it for use as a shellac substitute, as a molding compound, as a water-proofing agent for impregnating sheet, tube and rod mater al made of paper, wovenor felted fabric,

parchmentized fibre and for the many other uses requiring a hard relatively infuslble, insoluble and" structurally strong, light, tough substance. i

Another object ofthe mvention is to provide a synthetic resin of the above class which shall be available for use as a nonconductor of high dielectric value, which shall be water and oil proof and which may be prepared in soluble or insoluble form at will, being, when in soluble form, capable of further treatment whereby 1t may be changed at will into its insoluble and 1nfusible form.

We also desire to provide a condensation product which in its initial stage or form may be utilized in connection w1th suitable powdered or fibrous material as a substance from which articles may be subsequently molded under heat and pressure in order to transform said product to its final SOlld and infusible form. 7

It is further desired to provlde a relatively simple, inexpensive and easily 0perated proccssfutilizing glycerine or glycerine derivatives for making products of the above class.

In carrying out our invent1on in a typical case, we-prepare a mixture of one hundred grams of phenol or one of 1ts homolo ues and ninety to one hundred grams of g ycerine or one of the derivatives of glycerine such as epichlorhydrin, allyl alcohol, glycerine aldehyde, 'di-hydro xy-acetone, etc.,

with a suitable catalytic agent, such as about twent drops of su phuric acid in the case Zpeci ed, or 40 drops of bromine.

The above mixture is then boiled from ix to eight hours under areflux condenser, at the end of which time the resulting liquid Application filed August 12', 1920. Serial 203,126.

is transferred to an oven and sub'ected to a tem erature of about 125 deg. C. or further con ensatlon. If this heating in the oven be stopped at the end of four or five hours, the material 'constltutes an initial condensation product and is soluble in alcohol, acetone,- benzol and other ordina or anic solvents such as those above no an is fusible at elevated temperatures.

When subjected to further condensation by being heated to a temperature of about 125 deg. C. for a period of about twentyfour hours, the initial product will change to 1ts solid form in which it is infusible at all temperatures and insoluble in the ordinary organic solvents such as those above noted.

In either its initial or final form the above described condensation product of the phenol1c body and glycerine or a glycerine derivative may be employed for any of the purposes for which other phenolic condensatron products are now utilized, being especlally valuable as a shellac substitute. When in the initial or semi-solid stage it may be employed as a base in the manufacture of varmsh and may be used for the impregnat1on of vulcanized fibre, paper or fabrics in sheet, tube, block or rod form, after which upon the application of suitable heat such as that resulting from 125 pounds steam pressure and a pressure of about one thousand pounds per square inch, for from one to five hours or more, depending upon the dimensions and form of the structure it may be caused to change to its final or solid form.

In making a laminated structure such as a block, sheet tube, or rod, the above condensation product in its liquid or semi-solid initial stage is dissolved in from fift to sixty parts of an organic solvent suc as alcohol or acetone and is caused to uniformly permeate the sheet or other fibrous or porous body either by directly soaking the latter in said liquid or by any other known method. After the solvent has been removed by heating in an oven or. dry house, the impregnated sheets or other structures may be subjected to relatively high pressure such as one thousand pounds to the square inch and to a temperature such as that of steam at 105 one hundred and twenty-five pounds ressure for a period depending upon the t ickness and dimensions of said material. Tubes or rods may be made from the above described impregnated sheet materlalby w nding it on a mandrel of suitable dlmensions and thereafter subjecting it to heat and pressure such as above indicated.

In any case the resulting product is unaffected by moisture and by the ordinary organic solvents, it has a high mechanical strength, and is especially adapted for mechanical and electrical purposes, being particularly useful in the manufacture of gears, electrical insulators, phonograph records, etc.

Without departing from our invention we may vary the proportions of the g1 cerine or glycerine derivative and of the p enolic body employed therewlth and we ma also vary the temperatures, pressures an time of treatment,the essential feature of the invention residing in the production of a condensation product constituting a synthetic resin by utilization of a phenolic body and glycerine or derivative thereof as described above. In place of phenol we may employ any of its homologues such as 0-, m-, p-cresol, or anycompound containing a hydroxyl radical o1ned to a benzene ring, substituted or not.

\Vhile the condensation product 1n 1ts 1mtial stage is a' liquid or semi-liquid soluble in acetone, alcohol, benzol, etc., in 1ts final form it is infusible and insoluble in the above noted and other ordinary organic solvents, being a hard, tou h, resinous substance, breaking with a ustrous fracture and having a dense, homogeneous structure.

If it be desired to accelerate the change of the product from its initial to 1ts final stage, a suitable proportion of a hardening agent may be added prior to its subjection to eat and pressure, and as typical of such material we may use hexamethylenetetramme, benzidine-acetone, sodium-acetone-bisulphite, etc., etc. As typical of catalytic agents which may be employed in place of sulphuric acld, we may use bromine, Eyridine, sulphur monochloride, aniline hy rochloride, other acids as hydrochloric; bases, as ammonia; acid salts as sodium bisulphate; and other compounds. 0

Certain catalysts, we find, for certain uses, cause deleterious eilects on the materials with which our condensation product is used, and the removal of the catalyst may therefore be desirable. The catalysts may be removed by simply washing out with water or any other suitable solvent in which the resin or condensation product is insoluble. This removal by a purely physical method, is best performed after the first fusible and soluble condensation product is formed, as heat alone without catalytic assistance will cause the condensation to become total and give a hard, infusible, insoluble product.

If the introduct n f water or other 501- vent as mentioned above is not desirable, the catalyst ma be removed by chemical means, i. e., intro ucing some substance inert in itself towards the materials which the catalyst destroys but reactive with the catalyst, formin a non-reactive or inert substance which in small quantity does not affect the desirable properties of the condensation product.

The chemical removal of the catalyst takes place best after the first fusible and soluble product is formed, as heat alone cancarry the condensation to the final sta e.

For instance if sulphuric aci is to be removed, we add a owdered barium carbonate in excess. This atter is inert and the barium sulphate formed may act as a filler.

If bromine is to be removed we add an alcoholic solution of ammonia, and the ammonium bromide which is chiefly formed, is inert.

If cresol be emlployed in place of phenol we employ it in t e proportion of 120 parts to 100 parts of glycerine, while if epichlor hydrin is used in place of glycerine we employ it with an equal amount of phenol or in the proportion of 6 parts cresol to 5 parts epichlor hydrin.

When in its initial sta e, our condensation product may be dissolve in alcohol, acetone, benzene, etc. and thereafter be mixed with wood flour, asbestos or other organic or inorganic material, after which the solvent may be removed by heat. The resulting mass may be then ground or otherwise reduced to a powder which may be readily given any desired form by subjecting it while in a mold to a pressure of approximately one thousand pounds to the square inch ata temperature equivalent to that of steam at a pressure of one hundred and twenty-five ounds per square inch, for a period of time epending upon the dimensions and form of the object being molded ;-the pressure and heat being continued in any case until the condensation product has assumed its final infusible and solid form.

Inasmuch as our invention contemplates the use of glycerine derivatives such as noted above, as well as glycerine itself, it is to be understood that in the claims the term lyccrine is intended to broadly cover and include both the chemical substance known as glycerine and also the derivatives thereof Attention is called to a division of this case which was filed by J ames McIntosh, on February 20, 1925, Serial No. 10,688, covering the resin and the process of making the same without the use of a hardening agent.

We claim 1. The method which consists in causing a phenolic body, a catalyst and glycerine to react to form an initial condensation prodact and thereafter subjecting said initial product to further condensation in the pressume a solid, infusl 1e form.

' 2. The method which consists in causing. a

I phenolic body and glycerine to react to form an initial condensation product and thereafter subjecting said initial product to further condensation in the presence of a hardening agent to cause it to assume 'a solid infusible form. t

3. A process comprising heating a glycer ine-phenol condensation product with a formaldehyde material sufliciently to harden the same and form an infusible, insoluble product. 7 V

4. A process which comprises heating a glycerine-phenol condensation product which is solid at room temperature with a formaldehyde material sufliciently-to harden the same and form an infusible, insoluble product.

5. A hard, infusible product being a re-. action product of a glycerine-phenol fusible condensation product which is solid at room temperature, with :1 formaldehyde material.

6. A hard, infusible product being a reaction product of a glycerine-phenol fusible to condensation: derivative.

7. A hard, infusible product obtained by the further reacting o 'a Elycerine-phenol condensation product, wit a hardening agent.

8. As a new product, with a formaldehyde composition of matter, a potentially reactive condensation product of'a phenol and a polyhydr icalcohol and a hardenin agent therefor, said product being converti 'le by heat and pressure into a hard,

infusible body.

9. As a new composition of matter, a potentially reactive condensation product of a phenol and polyhydric alcohol and a methylene-containing accelerating agent therefor, said product bein convertible by heat into' a hard, infusible Eody.

10. As a new composition of matter, a tentially reactive condensation product 0 a phenol and a glycerol and ashardening agent therefor, said product.beinggconvertible by heat into a hard, infusiblebodyf 11. 'As a new COmPOSilfJlQDiQf matter, 'a potentially reactive condensation product of a phenol and a glycerol andametliylene-containing hardening agent therefor, said prodnot being convertible by heat into a hard, infusible body.

12. The hereindescribed method which comprises producing a condensation product of a phenolic body and a polyhydric alcohol, and then adding an accelerating agent there- 13. The herein described method. which com rises reacting a phenol and a glycerol too tain an initial condensation product, and then adding a methylene-containing accelerating agent thereto.

' JAMES McINTOSH.

EDWIN YEAKLE WOLFORD.. 

